


The Story

by SlytherinsIcePrine



Category: Glee
Genre: Blind Character, Brittany loves ducks and angels, F/F, Protective Santana Lopez, Quinn is happy to oblige, Quinn is soft for Rachel, Quinn is there for it, Rachel Berry & Santana Lopez Friendship, Rachel is Beths' favourite, Rachel is a soft butch gay, Rachel needs a hug, Swearing, Violent slushy attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:08:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28926312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherinsIcePrine/pseuds/SlytherinsIcePrine
Summary: After taking Quinn in after the blondes' pregnancy was revealed, Rachel is left blind after a slushy attack.  Insert protective Unholy Trinity and Rachel finally finds her courage again.
Relationships: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Comments: 5
Kudos: 95





	The Story

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys, gals, and non-binary pals!!   
> This is the result of being left alone after watching Greys' Anatomy and hearing Sara Ramirez sing during the musical episode in season seven. I whole-heartedly recommend listening to 'The Story' by Mx Ramirez whilst reading this story, and if you watch the clip on Youtube you will see the emotions Rachel conveys as she sings.
> 
> As always I do not own Glee or Greys', I just enjoy playing around with the characters.

Quinn woke up to the soothing sound of Rachel singing lowly next to her protruding stomach, her usual alarm clock for the past four months. Stubbornly refusing to open her eyes, the pregnant blonde shuffled closer to Rachel when the baby kicked violently. 

"You suck at pretending to sleep Q," Rachel murmured sleepily. 

"Keep singing,' Quinn playfully demanded. 'She's dancing!"

Hesitant fingers landed on her bump and Quinn immediately placed them over the movements. Rachel laughed excitedly and laid her forehead next to her hand. 

"I wanna leave, my footprints, on the sands of time..."

When it hit Quinn exactly what song Rachel was singing she felt her breath catch in her throat and tears prick at her eyes. It'd been three months since Rachels' accident, and she was only now becoming the girl she used to be; so hearing her friend sing about wanting to be remembered for something hit a little close to home. 

As if she knew where Quinns' head had just gone, Rachel sat up and turned her face towards the sound of Quinns' breathing. Feeling the movement on the bed, Quinn finally opened her eyes and found Rachels' dull cinnamon orbs staring sightlessly at her. 

"Happy thoughts Q," Rachel whispered.

Lifting their still joined hands, Rachel placed them on the side of her face before letting go, relaxing as Quinn tenderly cradled her jaw. Now an integral part of their morning routine, Quinn reverently began tracing the scars that looked like they exploded from Rachels' eyes, making sure to touch every one as Rachels' hand lay against her bump once more. 

"You're beautiful," Quinn said simply. 

"I know,’ Rachel replied cheekily. ‘Now stop thinking about how irresistibly gorgeous I am and get up, we have school."

With a soft chuckle at the brunettes’ sass, Quinn watched as Rachel carefully rose from the bed and began making her way towards the bathroom; hands held out in front of her for protection. Once they brunette was safely behind the door Quinn let loose her tears. 

** FLASHBACK **

"Come on!' Rachel squealed excitedly. 'We're almost there!"

Quinn shook her head as she allowed the excitable girl to pull her through the crowded streets. She'd been living with the small brunette and her parents for a month now and still wasn't used to this casual side of Rachel. Instead of short skirts, animal sweaters, and uptight attitude, the diva was wearing combat boots, ripped grey boyfriend jeans and an electric blue cut-off band shirt; her normal style falling firmly into the soft butch stereotype of society with a laidback attitude that belayed a quiet confidence in herself.

"Where are we even going Rae?" The blonde smiled, her eyes catching a glimpse of white sports bra as Rachel walked. 

"To get you and Bug your Berry mugs!-' Rachel gestured to Quinns' barely showing stomach. '-You're honourary Berry's now, so you have to have your own special mug! Welcome to the family!"

Rachel flashed Quinn a dimpled grin – one Quinn knew only she and Rachels’ fathers ever got to see - before turning back to pay attention to where she was going. So overcome with emotion, Quinn didn't notice Rachel stop on a dime until the brunette stumbled back into her with a scream. A flash of pain seared across Quinns' cheek, but her attention was focused on how Rachel crumpled to the floor at her feet, hands covering her eyes and screams splitting the air. 

“Fucking freak!”

Quinn barely spared a glance at the laughing jocks walking away as the people around them stared at Rachel in shock, her entire being narrowing down to the small body on the floor.

"Rachel!!"

Falling heavily to her knees Quinn was helpless as she watched Rachel claw at her eyes, blue slushy dripping from her face in damning trails of purple onto the mall floor. 

"Fuck! Urgh!!"

Rachel moaned painfully as Quinn pulled her head onto her lap, the blonde not caring about the blood and syrup on her white dress. The slushy soaked brunette rocked pitifully on her thigh, blood seeping from her eyes as she whimpered pitifully. 

Three hours, 67 pieces of glass, and two changes of clothes later, Quinn fell asleep curled up against Rachels' chest on a hospital bed possessing the knowledge that Rachel would never see again. 

** END FLASHBACK **

When she carefully stepped out of the shower onto the soft bathmat, Rachel could hear that she was completely alone in her room, Quinn having left to get dressed. Feeling around the countertop, she found her towel and underwear and hastily put them on, grunting slightly when it took her a few tries to get her sports bra on the right way. Running the towel through mahogany waves, she began counting her steps to the door and returned to her bedroom. 

After returning home from the hospital, the brunette had hated the idea of using a cane at home, so she and Quinn had spent hours mapping the house. They counted how many steps from one place to another, got Rachel used to touching the walls so she could feel when she encountered a doorway, and basically baby-proofed all corners in the house. Although not completely confident on her own, Rachel was sure enough in the layout of her bedroom that she made it to the doorway without any incident. 

"Daddy?" She called out. 

Heavy footsteps coming from her left told her daddy had just left his room; as the tallest in the house and still sporting the build of the college footballer he used to be, Leroys' footsteps were the easiest to identify when he walked across a surface. A wave of antiseptic and bergamot suffused the hallway, another thing Rachel used to distinguish her parents from each other when they were together. 

"What's up baby girl?" Leroy smiled sadly , onyx eyes lingering on the patchwork of pale scars on his daughters face. 

"Can you go see what colour dress Quinn put on her bed and help me find a similar cut-off please?"

Leroy smiled sadly as he stopped himself from nodding his assent. 

"You got it, wait there."

Rachel heard ten steps down the hall, the knocking and subsequent opening of a door, a whispered conversation, then ten steps back before feeling a gentle kiss against her forehead. She flinched lightly at the action, having had no warning, before melting into her daddys' chest. 

"Lavender, that halter neck one you like,' Leroy supplied as he lead Rachel back into her room. 'What jeans would you like?"

"Ripped grey ones please," Rachel replied instantaneously, unconsciously knowing that Quinn would pair her dress with a grey cardigan. 

Rachel had seen the lavender dress once when Quinn tried it on mere minutes before her accident. It was a beautiful maternity dress, the halter done in lace and falling into a parachute dress just below pale knees. The brunette angrily wiped a tear away when she thought of how she wouldn't get to see how stunning Quinn looked with her bump in that dress. 

"It's not fair," she cried brokenly. 

Leroy jolted slightly at Rachels' soft words, turning to her with the chosen clothes in one hand. She looked so lost standing in the middle of her room in her red boxers and sports bra, scars white against her tanned face and tears leaking from sightless eyes. Reaching out his empty hand, the dark skinned man paused before he made contact. 

"I know baby girl, can I hug you?"

Rachel nodded robotically seconds before her face was resting gently against Leroy's strong chest as he held her; one hand against her head and the other around her shoulders. A couple minutes later, Rachel felt her father’s warm and heavy arms be replaced with pleasantly cold skin and the smell of gardenias as she was transferred into Quinns embrace. Tan hands immediately fisted the back of Quinns dress tightly as Rachel sagged into the comforting hold. 

"I'll leave you girls alone,' Leroy whispered warmly. 'Come down when you're ready."

"Will do Ler-' Quinn cut herself when she saw the taller man’s playful glare. '-Daddy."

When the door was safely shut behind Leroy, Quinn pulled Rachel tighter against her; pale hands wrapping around a tan waist tightly. Dropping a kiss onto damp hair, the blonde swayed them gently from side to side soothingly. 

"What can I do Rae? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, help me get dressed?" Rachel asked quietly into a pale neck. 

It wasn't until Quinn was helping Rachel pull a black leather belt through the hoops that she realised what the brunette was wearing. Stepping back slightly, she chuckled at their coordinated outfits. 

"We match," she cooed. 

The blonde wasn't prepared for her statement to reduce the diva to tears. 

"I know,' Rachel cried. 'I wish I could see you."

So this is what heartbreak feels like, Quinn thought to herself as she watched the older girl cry. Rachel had said some small things about her lack of sight, mostly making light of it when things got awkward and the occasional break down when she ran into something, but this was the first time she'd expressed her frustration about not being able to see Quinn. Thinking on her feet, Quinn stood in front of Rachel and grabbed her hands. 

"Then take a look Rae-' she placed Rachels' hands on the curve of her waist. '-all you have to do is ask."

The small brunette froze when she felt the curve of Quinns waist beneath her palms. Quinn mapped her face every morning, but she'd avoided mapping Quinns' because she was distraught that she would never be able to see what she was feeling. 

"Are you sure?"

"Hey, it's not every day I ask beautiful women to feel me up,' Quinn joked lightly. 'Even without your eye sight, you're the only person to see the real me Rae."

Sticking her to tongue out at the lame joke, Rachel took a shaky breath and slowly moved her hands. A toothy grin split her face when she felt the gentle curve of Quinns' belly and felt a small kick against her palm. 

"I swear she like you more than me," Quinn grumbled, voice filled with awe. 

"Course she does, I'm the best," Rachel sassed, quickly wiping away a tear. 

The brunette could almost hear Quinns’ hazel eyes rolling at her remark and she poked a finger at Quinns' ribs. Basking in the resulting bark of laughter, Rachel resumed her 'seeing' across the ridges of the blondes' ribs until her hands smoothed up to her chest. There was nothing sexual in the way she ran her hands up and over Quinns' breasts, just innocent exploring, but Rachel tensed slightly until she felt Quinn press a smile against her forehead in encouragement. 

The brunettes movements stuttered slightly when her fingertips left Quinns’ breasts and touched cold skin through the lace. Quinn always reminded her of winter when they touched; besides the paleness of her skin, the blonde was always cold to the touch, even minutes out of a shower. It was the kind of cold that came with the snow you just had to play in, an air of expectancy heavy with happiness and childhood memories of laughter and hot chocolate; and just like the snow, she melted into Rachels’ touch like winter melts into spring. 

Flattening both her hands against Quinns' breastbone, Rachel slowly ran them over the lace, trailing lightly over prominent collarbones and moulding around the column of the blondes throat. When her fingers were playing with the hairs at the back of Quinns' neck, Rachel stepped forward and laid her forehead over the hollow of a pale throat. 

"Feel better?" Quinn breathed as her hands fell to the small of Rachels' back. 

In lieu of answering, tan hands crawled up Quinns' neck and gently cradled her jaw, Rachel never once moving from her position. Just like Quinn has done every day for nearly four months, Rachel reverently began to trail her fingers over Quinns face for the first time; paying particular attention to her defined nose when it scrunched beneath her finger tip. When Quinn gasped shakily as her thumb ran along her bottom lip the brunette froze, Quinns' breath ghosting over her roaming digit. 

"Rachel..."

"I always wanted to touch your lips...' Rachel whispered. 'This isn't exactly what I had in mind."

Before Rachel could react, soft hands were cupping her jaw and gently pulling her face upwards where cold lips reassuringly pressed against hers. The kiss was soft and unassuming, no real destination in mind other than a confirmation of feelings and promises. With one last linger kiss, Quinn pulled back and kissed Rachels' nose. 

"You're not the only one. Now come on, Bug needs food," Quinn laughed lightly. 

"Hey Q? Are you wearing your grey cardigan?-' Rachel listened for Quinns' hum of affirmation before continuing. '-Top left drawer of my dresser, can you grab the grey bandana?"

"Why?"

"My scars... I'm not ready..." Rachel trailed off quietly, already feeling Quinn moving towards where she knew her drawer was. 

Quinn deftly folded the square fabric until it was the width of four of her fingers and stepped up behind Rachel. Humming gently to announce her presence, she smiled when a tan hand automatically reached back and touched her waist; the brunettes' way of orientating herself. 

"Lift up half your hair Rae, I have an idea," Quinn proposed. 

When the brunette did just that, Quinn deftly lowered the fabric onto Rachels' face and tied at the back of her skull. Recovering the lifted hair, the blonde intricately braided it around the knot of the bandana, effectively securing it. 

"Beautiful," she whispered. 

"Nothing compared to you I'm sure,' Rachel blushed adorably. 'Let's go feed Bug."

The brunette held a tan hand in front of her body, trusting that Quinn would wall her through the house. When cold fingers slotted between hers, Rachel hummed happily. 

"There's my darling girls!' Hiram exclaimed when the two teens reached the bottom of the stairs. 'Aren't you two just the cutest??"

"Papa!" Rachel whined. 

The tiny diva felt a kiss drop against her temple and couldn't contain her squeak. Hiram looked at his girls, noting how they stood closer together than normal with their hands intertwined behind Rachels’ back, and how his daughter stood taller than normal as she leaned slightly into Quinns’ side. He smiled widely at Quinns’ action, moving his spatula between the two of them for Quinns' benefit. 

"You're really stuck with us now Q."

"No place I'd rather be papa,' Quinn smiled shyly. 

\-----TIME SKIP - NOVEMBER-----

Rachel was sitting in the choir room with her head against Brittanys' surprisingly comfortable shoulder. A wonderfully unexpected result of her accident, she had been quickly adopted into the Unholy Trinity when Brittany declared that she would be Rachels’ eyes until she could make her new ones as long as she went with her to feed the ducks because baby ducks liked it when angels sang. Santana had put up slightly more resistance, but after having watched the way Rachel happily indulgent Brittanys’ eccentricity and found the brunettes’ sense of humour was almost as sharp and sarcastic as her own, Santana had stepped up and taken the diva under her protection.

Footsteps approaching the duo had Rachel shifting slightly to face the sound, Brittany knowing not to reveal who it was unless asked. Still unable to differentiate between Puck and Finn by footsteps alone, Rachel had to wait until a wave of sour sweat and an overwhelming amount of Axe body spray drowned out Brittanys’ pleasantly spicy perfume before she could make her deduction.

"Finn," she greeted coolly, making no move to physically engage with the boy. 

"Hey Rach, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Before she could rebuke Finn for shortening her name for the hundredth time, a familiar gait entered the room and she eagerly inhaled the calming scent of gardenias as Quinn stepped up beside Finn. Lifting her head and holding her hand out expectantly, Rachel shivered slightly when cold fingers entangled with her own.

"Quinn!"

“Hi love,” Quinn smiled warmly.

The brunette pulled on their linked hands until Quinn settled easily on her lap with an indulgent huff; Brittany happily pulling pale legs across her own lap as Quinn looped an arm around Rachels’ shoulders for stability. The two blondes cooed as Rachel leaned up to press a sweet kiss on Quinns’ cheek before leaning down and whispering to Quinns’ pronounced baby bump with a hand splayed protectively on the small of her back. 

"What's up Finn?" Brittany asked innocently when it became obvious that neither Rachel nor Quinn was going to acknowledge the footballer.

The tall boy shuffled awkwardly, eyes trailing from the tan hand against Quinns back to the pale fingers soothing carding through Rachels’ thick mahogany waves. Said diva was completely ignoring him, and he felt a rush of anger rush through him; he still wasn’t used to not being the sole recipient of Rachels’ attention.

"Rachel, can we talk?" He tried again. 

"Back off Finnept,' Santana's voice came from over his shoulder. 'Last time you talked you let Berry get slushied, get a clue and see we don't want you here."

Finn stomped off, knowing better than to argue with the fiery Latina. As the boy stomped away like a pouting toddler, Rachel raised her head towards where she though Santana was standing; smiling in thanks when cold fingers gently moved her face slightly more to the left.

"Always knew you cared about me San," the diva sassed. 

"Bite me Stevie Wonder," Santana snapped back, her voice teasing as she moved to sit behind the trio. 

Rachel threw her head back and cackled loudly at the remark, dislodging her rainbow tye-dye bandana from around over her eyes. Quinn, Santana and Brittany immediately shifted so that they blocked Rachel from everyones' view when the laughter cut off violently, and Quinn gently but quickly pulled the bandana back up Rachels' face. 

"We've got you Rachie," Brittany smiled brightly. 

The brunette managed a small smile in Brittanys' direction before hiding her five in the crook where Quinns' neck meet her shoulder, fisting a hand in the blondes cardigan. The three cheerleaders spoke quietly amongst themselves over Rachels' head, pale fingers continuing to play with mahogany hair, until Mr. Schue arrived. 

"Alright guys! Original songs, who has one?"

The room was silent, all eyes falling on the tan hand that had shakily risen into the air. Rachel felt the weight of the stares, even as Quinn leant down to whisper in her ear. 

"You've got this darling."

Pressing a small kiss to Quinns' neck Rachel sat back so that she could speak. 

"I have one Mr Schue. My uh, my mum and I wrote it."

"Awesome Rachel, let's hear it."

The diva felt Quinn slide gracefully off of her lap and guide her to the middle of the room. Just before cold fingers slid from her hands, she gripped them tightly. 

"Can you uh, sit right in front of me?" Rachel whispered. 

Quinn frowned slightly at the stumble in Rachels' request, hating it when her girlfriend was nervous; especially about singing. 

"Course I will,' she smiled. 'Always front and centre, remember?"

Quinn stepped back from the diva and took her seat as Rachel spoke again. 

"This is dedicated to Quinn and our little Bug." 

Rachel made a gesture towards the band and a soft guitar introduction sounded through the room; the brunette having given the band sheet music a couple of days prior so that they could practice.

"All of these lines across my face  
Tell you the story of who I am  
So many stories of where I've been  
And how I got to where I am  
But these stories don't mean anything  
When you've got no one to tell them to  
It's true, I was made for you..."

The tiny diva took a confident step forward, her body moving with the music as she lost herself in her own head. Quinn smiled at the sight, pride welling deep in her chest as Rachel began hitting her stride. 

"I climbed across the mountain tops  
Swam all across the ocean blue  
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules  
But baby I broke them all for you  
Because even when I was flat broke  
You made me feel like a million bucks  
You do and I was made for you..."

The Choir Room was in awe. They all knew Rachel was talented, but this was a whole other level of brilliance; the amount of heartbreak and hope spilling from every word truly a sight to behold. The brunette dragged her hands up her neck and into her hair, the anguish in her voice palpable in the air as tears fell from her eyes. 

"You see the smile that's on my mouth  
Is hiding the words that don't come out  
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed  
They don't know my head is a mess  
No, they don't know who I really am  
And they don't know what I've been through like you do  
And I was made for you..."

Quinn was openly weeping by this point as Rachel sang her heart out. As much as this song was a way for Rachel to express her pain, it was written for her. When Rachels' hands shakily rose behind her head and untied her bandana halfway through the verse, Quinn rocked forward in her chair, mouth falling open as she realised what was about to happen. 

"All these lines across my face..."

Rachel allowed the bandana to fall and stood strong with her scars displayed for the first time in front of everyone. 

"Tell you the story of who I am  
So many stories of where I've been  
And how I got to where I am..."

The diva fisted her left hand in her pale yellow shirt, bending forward slightly with the weight of her emotions as she held out her right in Quinns direction. 

"But these stories don't mean anything  
When you've got no one to tell them to  
It's true that I was made for you  
Oh yeah, really, it's true that I was made for you."


End file.
